This invention relates to apparatus for processing food in general and in particular to apparatus for heating food products within a water bath.
In the apparatus of the type to which the present invention pertains, it is necessary to produce a blancher at a minimum cost and of simplified design.
Prior art blanchers utilize a separate frame for supporting the tank of the blancher which may include a framework welded together and including legs in the frame for supporting the main portion of the blancher. Such blanchers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,041, issued Jul. 4, 1995 to Zittel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,869, issued Jan. 14, 1997 to Zittel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,249, issued Jul. 28, 1992 to Zittel; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,810, issued Jul. 24, 1990 to Zittel and Robbins et al.
The prior art including the above patents utilize a separate framework which is welded together and then the tank itself is assembled into this framework. This separate frame construction results in considerable cost.
The prior art constructions also required many feet of welding to provide a water seal between the cover of the blancher and the lower tank portion thereof.
The blancher of the present invention provides a frameless design and a simplified water seal between the cover and the lower tank. The lack of a separate frame structure is possible by the use of end plates for the tank, which have integrally formed legs. These end plates for the tank can be cut on a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) laser machine which locates all of the holes in the end plate precisely and which permits subsequent robotic welding of attached tubes, as will appear. These end plates are welded to each end of the lower tank portion . The end plates with the integral legs are fabricated to form the particularly rigid and strong structure.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified cover for the tank and together therewith forms a simplified water seal between the cover and the tank which eliminates many feet of welding in such a structure.
The invention also provides a particularly rigid structure which includes the U-shape tank having an end plate with integral legs welded to each end of the tank and also having a pair of main tubes extending between the two end plates and rigidly secured thereto as by welding. The upper opposite edges of the tank are formed in a particularly rigid manner by means of being fabricated to form a water seal for the cover. These two rigid upper edges of the tank, together with the two main tubes and the end plates with integral legs, all form a particularly rigid and economically produced structure. In addition, they permit easy assembly, handling, strength, and the ability to accommodate thermal stresses.
The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a steel end plate for a food blancher. The CNC laser machine is used with the present manufacturing process and is of itself a conventional but improved design. This machine is engineered to maximize beam intensity and provides a constant length pivoting beam, which minimizes beam divergence. Vibration has been reduced using computer-aided engineering. These machines are of the CO2 gas laser type having a wavelength of 10.6 micron non-visible light. If other characteristics of this laser machine are deemed to be either necessary or desirable, reference may be had to the Mazak Nissho Iwai Company located in Schaumburg, Ill. 60173.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses.